Bishop Estate
long a power
-- and a target
Long before the current foment,
critics sniped at its vast holdings
Critics point to the Bishop Estate board of trustees as the logical result of a political spoils system run by the high and mighty of Hawaii society.
For more than a century, trustees were appointed by the state Supreme Court. Then, recently, furor over the selection system and charges of trustee misconduct spurred the court to remove itself from the process. Estate controversy continues, including a petition by ousted trustees to get their jobs back from a temporary board now in charge.
The modern turmoil, though, only underscores the fact that the Bishop Estate has always been one of the most powerful forces in Hawaii's history.
In 1935, for instance, federal Labor Department investigator Elwyn Eagen pointed out that the estate controlled 20 percent of the most fertile, valuable land in the Territory. But, he warned, it refused to sell, and leased land only to those who played ball with the Big Five companies.
By Bob Dye
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Charles Reed Bishop once told fellow Bishop Estate trustee Sam Damon, "You must, my dear Damon, be patient with the other trustees including myself, for we must treat each other openly and frankly, and try to work together, even if we cannot think alike about everything."
He prophesied to another, "There will be constant attack upon the estate and the trustees will need to be on the defensive always."
Those early trustees may not have thought alike about everything, but in most every other way they were very much alike. Until Bishop's death, every trustee was a white male born of American parents, Protestant, and all except Bishop wed a white woman born to American parents. Bishop's wife was Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, whose will created the trust to benefit Kamehameha Schools.
Most also had strong ties to missionaries through birth or marriage, and to the sugar industry via ownership or employment. They were the ruling oligarchs.
Charles Bishop died in 1915 -- and future trustees would no longer be from the same missionary mold. Over the next 40-some years, Hawaiians and Democrats were appointed to the board.
In 1920, the trustees (and years of service) were:
William Owen Smith (1884-1886, 1897-1929). Born on Kauai, eldest son of missionary Dr. James W. Smith, he had been a sheriff of Kauai and Maui, and a legislator. Prominent in the overthrow of the monarchy, Smith served as attorney general of the Provisional Government and the Republic of Hawaii. He founded Guardian Trust Co., which later merged with Bishop Trust and became its president. A director of a half-dozen corporations and an owner of Koloa Sugar Co., he was secretary and treasurer of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association for many years. He died in 1929 and was succeeded by John Kirkwood Clarke.
Eben Faxon Bishop (1904-1940), a nephew of Charles Bishop. He joined C. Brewer upon arriving in 1883, serving as its secretary, treasurer then president from 1909-1930. He was president of Mutual Telephone Co. and a director of the Bank of Hawaii, Hilo Sugar Co., Matson Navigation Co. and other corporations. A first lieutenant of Company "B", Honolulu Rifles, he participated in the 1887 revolution against King Kalakaua. He was elected to the Territorial Senate in 1904, and its president in 1907. In 1921 he became president of the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association. He retired in 1940, succeeded by ex-Gov. Joseph B. Poindexter.
Albert Francis Judd (1908-1939). A missionary descendant and son of a Hawaii Supreme Court chief justice, he trained at Yale Law School, then served in the Territorial Senate. Edwin P. Murray succeeded him.
William Williamson (1916-1928). A Williams College graduate, he came here in 1899 to teach at Punahou Schools. He went on to work in the sugar industry and owned a stock brokerage. Williamson served as a Commissioner of Public Instruction and was a member of the Territorial House of Representatives. He died in 1928, succeeded by George M. Collins.
Richard Henderson Trent (1917-1939). A Democrat, he was elected in 1905 as the first treasurer of the County of Oahu, at a salary of $200 a month, then re-elected for two more terms. After organizing Trent Trust Co. in 1907, he was accused of depositing county funds in banks under the firm's name. He successfully defended himself. From 1912 to 1914, he was president of the Honolulu Stock Exchange. During WWI, his firm was the depository of the U.S. Alien Property Custodian. He later was secretary of Mutual Building and Loan, and a Bank of Hawaii director. When he died in 1939, Frank E. Midkiff succeeded him as a trustee.
The men appointed to fill the four vacancies that occurred between 1928 and 1940 were of the oligarchy -- but not its top leaders. Three were former estate employees:
George Miles Collins (1928-1957). An engineer, he came here to work on the Waiahole tunnels system for Oahu Sugar Company. In 1914 he was named assistant engineer for the city, and three years later, joined Bishop Estate as superintendent of its land department. He was also associated with E.E. Black Construction Co., and served from 1931-35 as chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Public Instruction. When Collins resigned in 1957 to become a Campbell Estate trustee, he was succeeded by Samuel Wilder King.
John Kirkwood Clarke (1929-1951). A Hawaiian, he was treasurer of Waterhouse Trust Co., a trustee of Campbell Estate, secretary and treasurer of Robert Hind, Ltd., and a director of several firms. He also was chairman of the Commissioners of Public Instruction from 1925-29. He was succeeded as a Bishop trustee by Atherton Richards.
Frank Midkiff (1939-1983), who came in 1913 to teach and direct athletics at Punahou. He served as a captain of infantry at Schofield Barracks in WWI, leading "M" Company. He was Kamehameha Schools president from 1923-1932, and in 1934 became treasurer of J.B. Atherton Estate and Juliette M. Atherton Trust. In 1940 he was named a Punahou Schools. trustee. He died in 1983. Succeeded by Henry Peters.
Edwin Puahaulani Murray (1940-68) was born on Kauai. A Kamehameha Schools graduate and Democrat, he worked on finances for Kamehameha Schools from 1923-1932. He was elected auditor of Honolulu in 1932, and was re-elected in '34, '36, and '38. In 1940 he resigned to accept the Bishop trusteeship. He died in 1968, succeeded by Hung Wo Ching.
Bob Dye is a Hawaii-based freelance writer and historian. He taught at the University of Hawaii and Western Michigan University. He is the author of "Merchant Prince of the Sandalwood Mountain," "Afong and the Chinese in Hawaii," and editor of "Hawaii Chronicles, Island History from the Pages of Honolulu Magazine."
Bishop Estate archive
About this Series
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is counting down to year 2000 with this special series. Each month through December, we'll chronicle important eras in Hawaii's history, featuring a timeline of that particular period. Next month's installment: September 13.
Project Editor: Lucy Young-Oda
Chief Photographer: Dean Sensui
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